Vikings ticket lottery plan spiked

Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority officials said Friday that members rejects a plan to start a Vikings ticket lottery.

The ticket lottery was a small part of the plan to help fund the Vikings stadium. Authority chairwoman Michele Kelm-Helgen cited a number of reasons, including the value of the prizes potentially exceeding legal limits, whether a state-chartered agency could run a ticket lottery, and whether the proceeds from the game might actually contribute anything to stadium funding.

"We have looked at the feasibility, and given the legal challenges that potentially are there, as well as just the operational challenges, we don't think it's feasible to do," she said.

DFL State Rep. Ryan Winkler added the plan to the stadium bill this spring, and it won support from the Legislature. He said it might help pay at least a small part of the stadium's mortgage, and would also give regular fans a chance at getting premium seats for Vikings games when the stadium is finished.

The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority also said Friday that some preliminary design features of the new stadium might be unveiled in Duluth and Rochester next month. The authority announced it will hold a stadium listening session in Rochester on Nov. 13 and in Duluth on Nov. 27.

Kelm-Helgen said an initial rendering of the stadium design isn't likely before February. But she said the public may get an earlier look at what architects are thinking about.

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